Prospects of Arctic Tourism in Russia in Current Conditions

Arctic tourism is an important mechanism for sustainable development of territories in the Far North. Russia has developed strategies for the development of Arctic tourism, which is one of the areas of international cooperation. However, the complicated relations of Russia on the international stage have endangered further successful development of tourism in the Arctic. Numerous problems of tourism development in underdeveloped territories are exacerbated by new obstacles that have caused changes in the tourism services market. The article analyzes the problems of Arctic tourism development in Russia in the context of a difficult geopolitical situation that emerged in 2022. We have identified priority issues hindering the development of Arctic tourism and predicted which of them will be the most relevant at the present stage. Based on this, possible directions for planning Arctic tourism in Russia in the regional context were proposed. In order to identify problems and justify the prospects for overcoming them, we conducted a content analysis of the reviews of tourists who visited the main tourist destinations in the Russian Arctic, and made a SWOT analysis of Arctic tourism logistics. As a result, we found that the main problem for the development of tourism in the Arctic will be the deterioration of transport accessibility due to difficulties in organizing air travel, especially in regions that do not have land-based communications with places where tourist interest is formed. Therefore, the focus in planning the development of Arctic tourism should now be given to the regions of the European sector of the Russian Arctic, the most accessible and popular among tourists.